Forgotten Gaming- Columns

Name- Columns

Platforms- Sega Genesis, Sega Master System, Game Gear

Developer- Sega

Released- 1990/1991

It’s not uncommon for certain video games to become the hottest craze of their era. Look at Pong, Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros, Sonic the Hedgehog… even more modern games such as Bejeweled, Guitar Hero, Call of Duty and Angry Birds. All found a way to transcend their medium and become the latest trend, spawning countless imitators. One of the biggest gaming revolutions in the late 1980s was the Russian-born Tetris, the first ‘falling block’ style puzzle game that helped put the Game Boy on the map, create an entire new genre of video games, and single-handedly thaw the Cold War between the US and Soviet Union. (…ok, maybe not that last one.) Tetris was ported to virtually every computer, console, and graphing calculator ever since, with new releases to this day. It’s hard to find any device that doesn’t have a version of Tetris available in some way!

But with every phenomenon game come the many ‘me-too’s: games heavily inspired by the original but with just barely enough of a difference to not consider them completely plagiarized. Enter Sega with their ‘brand new’ game: Columns. Instead of tetronimos falling into a playfield, we have multicolored jewels in stacks of three. (The eponymous ‘columns,’ if you will.) As these columns fall the jewels can be rearranged, and our goal is not to create horizontal lines but rather to align same-color jewels in rows of three or more. (This may be the first instance of match-three gameplay ever to appear in gaming.) These lines can be horizontal, vertical, but also diagonal. As matching jewels disappear, jewels above them fall into place, allowing chain combo opportunities. Continue to do well, and point values increase, the game gets faster, and like Tetris, the game ends when jewels reach the top and no new columns can fall in.

Originally released in the arcades, Columns quickly became a hit. The game’s tight mechanics, pleasing Greek theming, and hauntingly beautiful music earned it a rightful spot next to Tetris, and was soon also ported to the many computers and consoles of its time. Columns’ most popular home port was as an early title for the Sega Genesis, the version we will cover here today.

Arcade mode, Genesis version. A perfect translation.

In a time where arcade-to-console conversions were notoriously butchered due to inferior hardware, the Genesis version of Columns was a rare instance of an arcade-perfect port. Through ‘Arcade’ mode, the game looks and sounds exactly like the original, and one or two players can enjoy playing completely separately from each other. (Later games such as Puyo Puyo would copy this screen layout but have the two players playing directly against each other.) If Sega really wanted to, they could have stopped right at this arcade mode and release the game as is, and it would have done wonderfully as a perfect arcade port. Luckily they did not, and decided to include extra modes exclusive to this home version.

Besides the ‘Arcade’ mode there is also the cryptic ‘Menu’ mode. (A menu option for a menu?) Here, the game can be played in its original form but with various customization options. Difficulty can be changed by adding more different jewels to the mix, or starting at faster speeds. Games can be played with one player, two independent players, or a special co-op ‘doubles’ mode where players alternate turns in a single well. All variations can either be played in an untimed score attack or a three-minute time attack, with best scores recorded and saved (that is, until you turn the power off). Lastly, players now have their choice of music. Besides the original track, ‘Clotho,’ one can choose either ‘Lathesis’ or ‘Atropos.’ 

The Genesis was always hounded for its sound capabilities compared to its contemporaries, with its music and sound effects sounding too artificial or ‘game-y.’ But anyone looking to showcase how beautiful the Genesis can sound must look no further than Columns. Its three tracks manage this beautiful harpsichord and organ instrumentation that, coupled with genius melodies, sound mysterious, beautiful and catchy. Each track is spectacular in its own right, and while Clotho overwhelmingly gets the most recognition, I personally feel Atropos is overlooked. It is any Sega fan’s dying wish to one day hear renditions of Clotho, Lathesis and Atropos on a church organ in a cathedral.

Flash Columns. The flashing animation (bottom violet jewel) is much more obvious in motion.

Back to the game itself, there is one more option hiding in the Menu mode, and that is for an entirely new game variation called Flash Columns. Those tired of matching three until their eyes bleed will welcome this new mode, which calls upon the player to match a certain flashing jewel in a preset field. This involves a new layer of strategy to not only work down through the preset jewels, but to also not block out the flashing one. Moves now need to be made in advance as chain combos are the best method to quickly get down to the bottom of the well and include the flashing jewel in those combos. Also playable in co-op doubles mode, Flash Columns could very well have been turned into its own game.

Looking briefly at the Sega Master System version, this port of Columns obviously had to be downgraded to accommodate the weaker hardware. Despite the limitations in sprite size, Original and Flash Columns are included in their one and two player modes, as well as doubles. Time Trial and alternate music tracks have been cut, however the option to change the jewel appearances has been added, allowing you to play with jewels that look like blocks, card suits, domino faces, etc. Dynamic backgrounds have also been added, with an animated starfield in the background of Original mode and oddly, a racing track in the background of Flash mode. (Possibly a reference to Hang-On?) Overall the Master System version of Columns gets the job done, but is unfortunately hindered by a proportionally small play area and even smaller jewels. Even with a large TV you’ll be squinting at which jewels are which, and through an RF connection, good luck trying to make anything out!

Master System version. Look at all that wasted real estate...

Lastly, there’s the Game Gear version of Columns, released as a launch title for Sega’s new handheld system. The Game Gear was everything that Nintendo’s Game Boy was not, especially with its full-color backlit screen. Packing the colorful Columns in with Game Gear was a direct attack against Nintendo, which packed the monochrome Tetris in with the Game Boy. Yet the Game Boy succeeded with its lower price and better battery life, with Tetris seen as the better game over Columns. As the Game Gear was essentially a portable Master System (with a richer color palette), the handheld version of Columns was a shrunken-down port of the Master System version. Animated backgrounds were traded in exchange for a static picture of an ancient city, and the Game Gear’s smaller screen resulted in a more zoomed-in picture. Interestingly, where this zooming in usually made Master System-to-Game Gear ports harder to play due to the smaller screen, this actually fixes the main flaw of the Master System version and makes the Game Gear version easier to look at! Lathesis and Atropos have also been restored, making the handheld version the superior of the 8-bit variants. Multiplayer options are still available, however this requires a second Game Gear and copy of Columns, connected via the Gear-to-Gear cable, but this is understandable. 

The Game Gear port is admittedly more claustrophobic but easier to play.

All in all, those looking for an old-school puzzle fix will find a lot to like in Columns. Obviously the Genesis version reigns supreme with its arcade perfection and bonus modes. Doubles mode also proves very interesting, as at the time multiplayer games focused more on competition rather than cooperation. Today, one could argue the opposite rings true, so Columns stands almost ahead of its time. The game is easy to pick up and hard to master, a golden rule for timeless video games. Plus, chain combos in any game are always satisfying, especially when they’re unintentional. Find a few moments in your day, get comfortable, and allow Columns to relax, intrigue, and excite you.

Revel's Fine Situation

$5,000. Every day.

For those unaware, Glenn Straub finally purchased Revel for $85 million. A $2 billion resort, mind you, that never fully repaid itself. He plans to turn it into some kind of something dubbed ‘Polo North,’ with many plans ranging from polo grounds to water parks, downsized casinos to hotel/residential. He even mentioned raising Revel’s planned-but-never-constructed second tower. It’s all completely up in the air, and the estimated additional costs for Polo North are $500 million.

Some people are just filthy rich.

But there’s a major problem. Remember ACR? The power plant built for and only servicing the Revel complex? The second the sale to Straub was official, ACR no longer was obligated to keep the lights on. The interim between ownership is over, and Straub’s sale did not include immediate repayment to ACR. So ACR pulled the plug. No lights, no air flow, and most importantly, no water. No water means no fire suppression. Not only is Revel susceptible to the salt air and possible mold growth, but if the tower catches fire, it’s done. Be it an innocent spark or intended arson, Revel has no defense. Should fire break out 6-700 feet up, it will be impossible to fight.

Active fire suppression systems (sprinklers, alarms, etc.) are a New Jersey requirement for buildings of Revel’s category. For being without fire safety, Revel was fined $10,000 on the first day. Subsequent days add additional $5,000 penalties. The power has been off since April 9. For those keeping score, that’s $40,000 in fines as of this article’s date (and please tell me you caught the pun in the title.) At this rate, the fines will bring the price back up to what Revel should have cost in the first place!

Aha, Straub said, but I have a solution! Instead of coming to terms with ACR, I’ll just truck in some temporary generators! A few rows of diesel-powered generators will provide enough basic power for the complex, including fire systems, until I get a more permanent plan in place! It’s perfect! Not… quite. Now the state has problems with the generators. Being diesel fueled, that creates exhaust and pollution, and a couple rows of that is creating an alleged air-quality issue, and Straub is being asked to find a greener way to power his new building.

Just… ugh.

The infamous Revel/Polo North generators.

Now I’m blaming the state. You really can’t just cut the guy a break?! Revel is the ultimate taxpayer’s burden, and there’s constantly been an issue with trying to revitalize the complex at every twist and turn. The state is simply being annoying. Then there’s ACR, the eternally sour power plant. You cut off your one and only customer, because they couldn’t pay you. But now, nobody’s paying you! Was this really the best thing to do? Is the principle really being heard here? Or are you guys just coming off like the butthurt pariah? If you had any decent business sense, ACR, you would keep racking up the IOUs on Revel, and add interest. (Because those generators still wouldn’t be a permanent solution.) That way when they finally can pay you, you’ll be rolling in it. You had the monopoly on them, and instead you cut them loose. If the building subsequently suffers, you will suffer too, maybe to the point where there won’t even be a building you can power.

NJ: Just give this guy a pass for now.

ACR: Restore the power and dream for an absolution.

Straub: I’m sorry, dude. Keep strong and carry on.

and Revel: Don’t forget to pay your $5,000 fine tomorrow!

State of The Pier Shops: Spring 2015

For centuries now, several piers have dotted the Atlantic City boardwalk, and they were always far from mere fishing docks. There’s the famous Steel Pier, which hosted several entertainment attractions through the decades, from horse diving (look it up) to the current amusement park. There’s the Garden Pier, now the home of the Atlantic City Museum. And then there’s the Million Dollar Pier, which always looked less like a wooden dock and more like a long building jutting into the ocean. Following the casino boom in the 80s it became a shopping mall, known as The Shops on Ocean One. Then in 2006 the pier was purchased by Caesars, who connected it to the main property via skybridge and turned it into The Pier Shops at Caesars, as it’s now known today.

The Pier Shops were born during the financial height of Atlantic City. With the Tanger Outlets (‘The Walk’) performing admirably, it was decided that AC needed an upscale swath of boutiques to complement the factory stores. All 11 casinos at the time were on the up, and there was no recession in sight… yet. Thus the Pier Shops were born as New Jersey’s answer to Fifth Avenue or Rodeo Drive. Two floors of premium retail space, a third floor composed entirely of unique restaurants, and a ‘secret’ fourth floor to rent out for weddings or other private events, literally right out on the ocean. Taking a cue from the Forum Shops in Vegas’ Caesars Palace, the new Pier Shops at Caesars merged opulence with oceanfront, creating a mall unlike any other in the world. It was cultivated by Taubman Centers, which owns many other upscale malls including Crystals and The Mall at Short Hills, and appropriately enough they only allowed the cream of the crop to take up residence in the Pier. It had Gucci, Tiffany, Louis Vuitton, Apple, Armani… names and labels that never had a presence in Atlantic City (or South Jersey in general), until now.

The lobby. That beautiful display bottom left is now a Cinnabon/Auntie Anne's combo. -_-

And what would a Caesars property be without a little spectacle? At the far end of the Pier stood an attraction cryptically known as ‘The Show,’ a circular atrium surrounding a giant network of fountains. On the hour, the house lights would dim and the fountains would activate in preset patterns of dancing waters, flashing lights and music on cue. The Show was one of the first major, exclusive, and free non-gaming attractions in Atlantic City, pre-dating the current trend of introducing family-friendly attractions by several years.

The Show during one of its shows. May 2012.

All this was incredibly situated on a pier in the Atlantic Ocean, connected to one of AC’s more luxurious boardwalk casinos. One can flit to and from the Pier to Caesars proper without ever setting foot outside, a godsend during those winter months. Guests staying at Bally’s or Claridge can also pass through to the Pier via a series of indoor connections, and anyone who stayed at the adjacent Trump Plaza just had to brace the cold for mere seconds. The Pier had it all.

But today, the Pier is a dead mall.

Just a few storefronts down, and things get real quiet real fast. March 2015.

You’ll enter either from the boardwalk or 2nd floor skybridge. At first, everything seems fine. There’s still Gucci and Louis in attendance, with Armani Exchange a bit further down. Yes, it’s odd to smell the Cinnabon and Auntie Anne’s so close to the designer suits and handbags, but you let it go. It’s Atlantic City, people… something’s gotta give. Continuing down the first floor, the storefronts get a bit sparse, and you notice the wraps covering up the empty retail spaces, trying to make it look intentional. Those tenants still remaining start looking a bit out of place, surely that Cellairis (cell phone covers and chargers) doesn’t need the fancy storefront it has (and is only using the front third). It’s especially jarring to see a full-fledged Guess store in the same area as ‘The Wall of Magnets,’ another re-positioned storefront that literally consists of a long wall of refrigerator magnets for sale. No kidding. You continue and reach the halfway point, a beautiful wood atrium with spiral stairs and exposed elevator work, allowing your first floor change since entering. It’s beautiful until you realize the plants are fake and dusty, you see labelscars of ‘THE SHOW’ on the signage, and there's an eerie silence from the zero customers passing through.

At this point, the first floor is roped off, you can no longer continue down the Pier from here. Puzzled and slightly nervous, you ascend to the second floor.

Stock photo of the second floor, probably around 2010.

Second floor as of March 2015.

Now the second floor was always designed to look like eternal night, with black ceilings and no proper lighting, but washed in ‘starlights’ of different colors, though mostly green. During the Pier’s prime, the starlights would combine with the storefronts to make the floor look much more inviting, like a main street thoroughfare after dark. A cool concept, as long as there are still stores standing. Curiously, the second floor allows further passage toward the ocean, but with nary a store to be seen. It’s genuinely dark and a bit creepy, voices carry from the few people that are strolling around and it all comes off a bit sketchy. In the distance is the light from a storefront: a lone Sunglass Hut. Its neighbors have all left, and it’s highly unlikely this location is earning its keep.

Then you get to The Show at the far end. Or at least, where The Show used to be…

The Show has been completely removed. March 2015.

Empty, boarded over, and almost ghostly. The Show atrium used to house several stores, ample spectating space, and the scaffolding of lights and speakers that made The Show well, the show. Now the far end of the Pier holds nothing. Adding insult to irony, barely visible through one of the larger storefronts are signs advertising blacklight mini-golf inside, though it’s hard to tell if it’s even open. What used to punctuate the start of the ocean with a bang, has now dropped off with a thud.

Ascending the transparent escalators on the far end, you approach the third floor, wondering how it can get any worse.

Third floor as of March 2015. The Pier's saving grace.

But to your surprise, the third floor is bustling! The Pier’s third floor is exclusively restaurants, and fine dining at that. The layout is quite unorthodox, as the floor is essentially wide open, with the restaurants, each with their own identity, weaving around each other. Some utilize their space very impressively, like the Continental. It’s made of a chain of dining ‘islands’ accented with fire pits and connected by bridges over moat-like channels. Even if it’s in between mealtimes with few diners eating, the open floor plan adds them up and makes each restaurant look that much busier. The third floor is noticeably the brightest, with large windows flanking each side allowing sunlight and lovely views of the beach and boardwalk. At night, the casino lights take over and make Atlantic City look surprisingly chic and alive. Having completed your circuit, you descend back down to the ground floor, re-smell the Cinnabon and Auntie Anne’s, ogle Gucci and Louis and venture back outside to the boardwalk, leaving you confused and bewildered as to what the heck you just walked through.

How… how… were the Pier Shops allowed to disintegrate like this?! I get it: recession, general AC downfall, cutting back, yeah I know. But this is the Pier! This was *the* premier shopping mall of the city, if not the county! With Caesars’ name proudly emblazoned on it, the new Pier Shops were set up as a reason why Caesars AC is a step up from the other boardwalk casinos. Why were the upscale tenants allowed to break their leases, why were places like the godforsaken Wall of Magnets given the OK next to Guess and Gucci, why wasn’t The Show better utilized (holiday themed shows, hello??), and most importantly, why was this place allowed to die? Really Caesars, you were one of the few guys turning a profit in AC. You couldn’t lend the Pier a few bucks to stay relevant? You couldn’t find a way to integrate your Total Rewards program into customer incentives for Pier shopping? (At this point Caesars should just hire me. I'm serious.) And in typical AC fashion, instead of trying to fix what’s broken, you just literally put a velvet rope in front of it and pretended it wasn’t there. Not cool.

Directories still reflect the Pier's heyday. Over half of these stores are no longer there. March 2015.

Thank god someone is coming in to revitalize the degradation Caesars allowed the Pier to sink to. A guy named Blatstein. He sees the Pier for what it is: a unique property that can be put to unique uses, in a city that desperately needs some unique ideas to disguise the fact that it’s uniquely screwed. According to recent announcements, he sees the Pier as a mix for the existing restaurants, new music venues, bowling alleys (ingenious given the Pier’s rectangular shape), and maybe even a pool club in The Show’s atrium. A year-round pool on top of the ocean, think about that. Ironically, the Pier’s possible new life echoes the former Showboat (closed prematurely by Caesars themselves last year), as the Showboat opened with a large bowling center and later became known for its House of Blues extension. Could the new Pier be a reincarnated Showboat? This time it’ll actually be on the water, as all good boats should be. =P

Like its boardwalk cousin Revel, the Pier Shops at Caesars were born in a period of economic rise but had the misfortune of living in the wrong place at the wrong time. Both tried to court an upscale clientele that simply wasn’t there. And with Revel already dead in the water, the Pier is on life support. One can only hope that Caesars just lets Blatstein buy the Pier with no strings attached and no drama, unfortunate staples of AC deals these days. Let him make it whatever he wants. Anything is better than what is now.

Because what it is now is just damn pathetic.

The (Million Dollar) Pier back in 1950. Amazing how things change, and it was probably better off staying like this.

The Showboat/Stockton Debacle

Come on, Atlantic City. How much worse can things keep getting?

The Showboat opened in 1987 as part of a wave of new development in the uptown boardwalk area. Previously, uptown AC was dominated by Resorts International, the first casino to open back in 1978. Showboat joined it about a decade later and the Trump Taj Mahal soon followed in 1990. These three casinos, all in a row, partnered with the existing boardwalk shops and piers to continue tourist interest in this region of the city. (Uptown would also welcome Revel in 2012 as its fourth casino, but that’s a bit of a different story…)

Various plots of Atlantic City, mostly on the boardwalk and marina, have been zoned exclusively for hotel/casino use, some reservations in place date back to the 70s when gambling was in the process of being legalized. This helped ensure that the city would have no problem finding premium oceanfront property to build its Las Vegas East. This explains why currently there are many plots that are going unused along the boardwalk, land that was once occupied by casinos like Atlantis and Sands. This land by law cannot be used for anything else but a hotel/casino. Since no one is coming forward to build new casinos (and really, who can blame them?) the land remains vacant and frustrated.

These deed restrictions started off effective, creating the Great Wall of Casinos we now have, but nowadays the market and demand has shrunken considerably. As many as 12 casinos have operated concurrently in AC, as recently as January 2014. Today the city can barely sustain eight, and the Showboat is not one of them. It's been made clear that we’ll never need (or be able to support) more than that any longer, which is sad. But it also means that deed-restricted land will continue to go unused. We need to find and allow other uses for these closed casinos and vacant lots.

Enter Stockton University, and their plan to transform the closed Showboat into the satellite Stockton-Island campus. Lately it has come under the moniker of 'Stoboat.' Cute, right?

Stockton + Showboat = Stoboat.

At first, all seemed to go well. Stockton successfully purchased the Showboat complex from its parent company Caesars last year, for the bargain-basement price of only $18 million. Immediately Stockton announced its plans to rename the building, convert the casino into offices and classrooms, use the entertainment venues for theatre students, and continue to operate the hotel towers for public use as well as dormitories. With this influx of young intellectuals, it would help recuperate the ailing uptown district and inject AC with  fresh air and innovation. As part of the deal, Stockton claimed that Caesars would work on changing the deed restriction to allow the Showboat site to become something other than a casino.

Turns out Caesars never did. And who told on them? None other than AC's dead casino 

walking, the Taj Mahal.

The Taj has been in the news (and in my blog) very frequently these past few months. Once the largest casino in the world, and top-grossing casino in NJ, the past few years have seen the Taj experience a spectacular fall from grace. Scheduled to close several times, saved by a regretful billionaire, and mired in very public fights with the unions, the fact the Taj still has its doors open is a blessing it does not deserve. With all the problems it continues to have, the Taj Mahal literally cannot afford any more non-positive publicity. Now they are whistleblowing against Stockton, quoting the obsolete charters that the Showboat site must only be used for a casino. Operating the Stockton-Island campus would, according to Taj, weaken the bond it has with Resorts as a cohesive unit of uptown casinos, not to mention introduce hundreds of people under 21 tantalizingly close to bars and slot machines that are restricted against them.

Now that last bit I can almost agree with. Of a college’s student body, a good half of them are aged 18-20. Housing so many young adults in a former casino, with actual casinos literally steps away… it’s odd. Although it would no doubt bring in more foot traffic for the Mahal, it would be made of patrons they can’t (and won’t) accommodate. But their other reasons are simply foolish. Taj would prefer another casino adjacent to it, eating away at its customer base? Hate to break it to you Taj, but Showboat and Revel closed for a reason, and you haven't turned a profit in years. Why would you want to block a non-competing organization from moving in, hoping to turn the city around, at the excuse of wanting more competition? Or the preference of having an eyesore of a vacant neighbor eventually decaying beyond repair?

I will admit, the Taj Mahal (left and center) and Showboat (right) are literally on top of each other.

The Taj needs to keep its mouth shut. They are the big losers of the boardwalk right now, financially and critically. If any casino needs to count its blessings right now, it’s them. You worried about 19-year-olds playing video poker? Really? Hire more security. Create more jobs. Do some good. Instead you should explore how to get their visiting parents in to drop a couple dollars and stay the night there. And once these kids do turn 21, you’ve got em by the throat! Interest in gaming fades with each passing generation, cater to these brand new customers! Give these kids every reason and then some to make AC and the Taj Mahal the place to commemorate one of life’s most important birthdays. Maybe even bring the Casbah back from the grave, and if that means doing it Deko-style (18 to party, 21 to drink) then just go for it!! This is a wonderful opportunity for a hotel and casino that is in desperate need of a shot in the arm. God forbid they have to think out of the box.

Open Stockton-Island. Usher in the new generation of Atlantic City. And Taj… be quiet.

Revel's Tortured Ghost

It was New Jersey’s Eighth Wonder of the World, and one of the most striking and postmodern buildings this side of the new World Trade Center. It heralded a new era for a city stuck in a rut, and signaled a change in the gaming and entertainment industries. It was known by a single, 5-letter word, a synonym for the celebration in which it stood for:

Like any good bet, the stakes for winning were very high and the toll for losing was even greater. Unfortunately, due to a combination of bad economy and poor decisions, Revel shuttered not even 2.5 years after opening, only existing from April 2012 to September 2014. Some may say this is where the journey ended, but a property so dominant and beautiful deserves a second chance. This is where things get interesting.

The former Revel still towers over Atlantic City, but instead of being a shining beacon for the beleaguered town, it casts a depressing shadow. Revel stands empty, its entrails unknown. If one were to break into the building now it’s unsure what you would find. Are the slot machines and tables still in place, without a chip to be seen? Have the check-in terminals and room-specific tablets been pawned? Are the facades and signage still lit on a timer? Do the elevators work? Has neglect taken its toll yet, with props covered in dust and things hanging now collapsed? It’s a depressing thought, especially given that nothing pre-dates the year 2012. Nothing had the chance to really be ‘used’ yet.

One thing is certain though, the building still has power. Revel was so big and so new that it required its own power plant: ACR Energy Partners. (Take a guess what the acronym stands for.) Curiously, it is considered its own company and not a subsidiary, despite being created for and having Revel as its one and only customer. Even though the resort ceases to exist, the power plant still does and it operates normally, albeit supplying much less power than usual. Given that Revel never once turned a profit (nor had the time to), its checks to ACR were nothing more than IOUs. Since the closing, ACR warned of cutting off Revel, but has since bided its time and supplied power to the dead building. One would ask what exactly they need to power: the answer is the air circulation systems, heat and AC. If ACR follows through with its word and stops supplying power, the air inside Revel, the salty, humid, oceanfront air, would stagnate. With moist, stagnant air comes mold, and the empty resort would quickly become a biohazard.

It makes me want to cry.

Even when Revel was still open, it actively looked for buyers. They knew they couldn’t keep the place from washing into the ocean themselves, and tried to find someone that could. But nobody wanted the place, even when it still had customers going in and out. Sure, some investors or real estate magnates would take a look, but nobody committed. Nobody committed to the beautiful, sprawling, essentially new property, even after fire-sale discounts.

Revel cost over $2 billion to build. Today they can barely sell it for $100 million.

They are practically giving the place away, and it hasn’t even become a mold biohazard yet. There’s not one super-rich person on Earth who wants the hottest piece of property in a city that is dying for reinvention. Oh, Glenn Straub? The guy who seems the most promising to buy Revel? He wants a discount. Are you kidding me. Anyone that steps forward to buy Revel always seems to back out for the dumbest of reasons. Reasons they couldn’t just wave their money wand at and fix, a wand which they would have to use to renovate anyway, mind you.

Then of course there’s the little issue of the inside tenants. Although Revel itself was a money pit, some of the restaurants and clubs inside the place did flourish. No matter how well these individual venues were doing, they were all forced to close with Revel on Labor Day weekend 2014. Even venues with separate entrances, like the nightclub HQ, were not allowed to operate. (Even with ACR still supplying the juice regardless!) It’s like if a shopping mall is closing and the Macy’s anchor is forced to close too. Not only does it add to the increasing dead-ness of Atlantic City, but the owners of these establishments took a major hit. I’m sure Revel helped them out a bit in the beginning but like any tenant, these places were on their own to maintain and invest, and they did! All for nothing now. Yet another court case with Revel now includes retribution for these third parties, adding to the court case with ACR, and with the taxes Revel still owes, and with trying to sell the property, and with corporate bankruptcy in general…

What a mess.

Can't say he didn't try.

I guess now it makes sense why nobody wants Revel as it currently is, but the problem is that the former resort is a ticking timebomb. It won’t stay pretty or even salvageable for much longer, and the longer we wait for someone to reopen or repurpose it, the renovation and gutting costs could exceed its asking price. Heck it would probably cost more to even demolish it. Someone just needs to do something with it. Enough haggling with price, it’s not going to get any cheaper. Pay off ACR and the ailing third parties, or better still allow them to reopen along with Revel 2.0. I know we’re talking about millions of dollars here, but the interested buyers are billionaires, so they can kind of afford this. Pay them off and clean the slate, consider it the reason why the building itself is so cheap and allow its discount to subsidize the additional payments. And do it now. Atlantic City literally can’t afford any more downtime, and by the time Revel 2.0 (or whatever it’s called) is ready to open it may be too late. Perhaps I’ll do another article about all the realistic things Revel can become, but right now it’s just imperative that something is done with it. 

It was such a wonderful place in 2012, full of innovation and delight, with an albatross of debt hanging from its neck from day one. A debt that everyone knew would never be repaid. And yet they tried their hardest, stumbling along the way, but with a good heart and good intentions. It was like that ex that promised they’d make it work, even though they never could.

Such a wonderful place, now writhing in Hell. =(

The Taj's Awkward Phase

I’ve made enough Taj Mahal/giant tomb jokes in previous posts, so I won’t make one here.

But it’s no surprise that after several premature closing dates and a very public feud with worker unions, the Trump Taj Mahal is not the grand casbah it once was. Even Trump himself has disowned the resort, requesting his name no longer be affiliated with the property (and even to remove the many TRUMP letters adorning the tower). By that respect I’ll no longer use his name either. Flanked by the Showboat-turned-Stockton college campus and the resurging resort known as Resorts, the Taj Mahal sits as literally the giant elephant on the Atlantic City boardwalk. It’s too big to ignore, and the ocean has taken its toll on the whitewashed Indian pastiche, its regal gold trim now a honey brown. And although it commands your attention, it does little with it. The smaller resorts like Caesars and Golden Nugget have more stage presence in AC than the Taj does, and it makes you wonder why.

There was a time when the name (Trump) Taj Mahal used to really mean something. It dominated Atlantic City in the 1990s as the newest, largest, and top-grossing casino on the boardwalk. On opening day it set the record as the largest casino in the world. The WORLD. Right there in plucky little Atlantic City! It was the new gold standard, and Donald Trump beamed with pride at every turn. The Taj Mahal was on top until 2003, when the Borgata opened and trumped the Taj (admit it, that was a good one). To this day the Borgata remains the biggest gravy train you can board in AC, and it shows no signs of stopping. Good for them, truly.

Empty chairs at empty tables...

So as Atlantic City’s casino revenue started declining 2007-onward, unless your name was Borgata you had some major ducks to get in a row. Tropicana expanded. Resorts rebranded. Bally’s overhanded. And Hilton basically gave up. Simply put, every casino did something, except for the Taj Mahal (and its cousin property the Plaza for that matter). The Taj stuck with its outdated casino and infamous massive chandeliers, burned out bulbs and all. Sure they opened a new hotel tower, and a lovely one at that, but unless you were a hotel guest it meant virtually nothing. It had no impact on the gaming business. AC patrons saw the 20/30-year-old casinos doing their best to keep up with Vegas (in vain but with an A for effort), but saw the Taj doing nothing. Something is always better than nothing. Oh wait that’s not true, the Taj did do something to keep up: they changed their logo.

They also opened a Scores. Remember Scores? That gentlemen’s club in NYC? That closed? Now there’s one in NJ, and because it’s in NJ, the laws prohibit nudity and alcohol in the same establishment. Bottom line: required pasties. Let’s just say the reception has been… soft. 

Check-in is at 4PM but you might want to come early, in case there's uh, a line.

So what is the Taj to do? It is coming on its silver anniversary this year, an anniversary that no one last year thought it would have. We all thought this place would be the fifth casino to close in 2014, but with a $20 million injection (purely out of Carl Icahn’s sympathy) it is still open. Hanging from the thinnest of threads. (There’s definitely a rug joke in there somewhere, let me know if you find it.) With barely an advertising budget, the Taj is scrambling to find a low-res way to get people’s attention and steer them away from the now-disproven rumors and headlines that the resort is closing. And absurdly enough, that’s exactly what they’re doing.

Lately it seems that the Taj Mahal’s ad campaigns are purely celebratory of its open doors. The Tropicana is advertising its headline performers, Borgata is advertising its poker tournaments, and Caesars is advertising its new restaurant. (There’s also a billboard still up advertising Revel’s final DJ appearances from last summer, I think that could be taken down now.) Then there’s the Taj, advertising the fact that it is open. Let that sink in for a bit.

You've got to be kidding me.

How could anyone see that as a positive message? Why would anyone want to go somewhere where an unlocked door is a selling point, especially with the competition eating at them from all sides? Even a dead casino is getting more ad space than them! The Taj Mahal needs a major player in their corner, and I’m talking big. Bigger than free slot play, bigger than a costly casino renovation, bigger than Scores. Remember that rumor where Mariah Carey was considering an Atlantic City residence? That’s what I’m talking about. Someone who can get people to drive/fly in from all over, have a steak dinner or equivalent, walk through the 90s-chic casino to get to the theater, play a few hands of blackjack after the show and then retreat to their room on the 24^th floor after a late-night snack at the Spice Road food court. At this point it’s beyond renovation, the Taj is a time warp and honestly should just stay like one. At least it can set itself apart from the other casinos that way. Not that the place can even afford a touch-up, heck I’m surprised they have enough money to award the jackpots.

Human traffic. That’s what the Taj needs. 

Saying ‘We’re Staying Open!’ as the billboards literally say, is not going to do that. But saying something like ‘Mariah’s at the Taj!’ would do a much better job. We need to see some spectacle here. Not new high-end boutiques that no one can afford, or lower-end ones no one cares about. Not new hotel rooms or towers because they can barely fill up what they have. Not even a new casino floor, because everyone else in AC is renovating theirs and they’re all starting to look the same. Plus, AC is aligning itself as a more-than-just-gaming town, so shift the focus. Bring in a household name that doesn’t zero-in on a niche demographic (looking at you, Scores) and have them hang around for a bit. Same as how many people go to Las Vegas purely to see Wayne Newton, Celine Dion or recently Britney Spears. They don’t go to gamble and yet they drop bank on show tickets, rooms, dining, tacky souvenirs and the rogue $20 in a slot machine. Laugh all you want, but it single-handedly turned Vegas around.

At this point it's almost a game to see how many letters burn out until they notice.

And while they’re at it removing the TRUMP letters from the building, why not remove the MAHAL as well? Everyone (including the corporate entity) affectionately refers to the property as ‘The Taj’ so let’s make it official! No better way to rebrand something than to call it what everyone calls it anyway. Look at what the YMCA did by rebranding themselves as ‘The Y’ and follow suit. Use the same masculine typeface as the existing logo (not that earlier, faux-Indian font) and let the three letters dominate the space: TAJ. It’s already an eye-catching and unorthodox word. Again, they have virtually no money to allocate to the R&D of decent rebranding, so use what you’ve got!

Once people start seeing that the Taj is back out to play again, people will take it more seriously. Until then it’s pretty much doomed. 25 years is a long time to exist no matter how you see it, and usually a 25^th year is a celebration of growth and maturity. (Coincidentally I turn 25 next week!) But for the Taj this 25^th year is an awkward one, a celebration of anyone who walks in the door. Calling it a ‘transitional phase’ would be too kind, as it’s unclear whether a next phase is even in the cards. This is no doubt the Taj’s darkest hour, and one that may lead to a major comeback only if the right stage is set. But if things remain as they currently do, it may as well have closed last year like it was supposed to. Three times over.

Happy Anniversary Taj, and good luck.